Dan Boyle (Green Party)

There is a famous quote, although I cannot remember who said it, "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." There are individuals who promote themselves and their love of country as being superior to that of other individuals, whereas real patriotism is about collective action in the face of adversity. There has been much misunderstanding and misreporting in how that term has been used in recent times. I would not blame some of our political figures who have used that word in certain contexts in the recent past, but it has had a certain unfortunate ring regarding the price differentials between the North and the Republic of Ireland. We have reached a sorry pass when somebody such as Mr. Jeffrey Donaldson of the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP, can sound more patriotic about the existence of the Border than anybody in the Republic of Ireland's political system.

This is not only a case of the current situation between price differentials between Northern Ireland and the Republic, which is cyclical and applies the other way around, particularly with products such as petrol. It is a constant problem we have had regarding denuded economic communities throughout this island and how people are led towards other economic centres. The problem we are experiencing with Northern Ireland could equally be said at any time of our history about counties such as Mayo, Longford or Offaly vis-À-vis Dublin, as our capital city.